GBS positive with uterine infection

[Wendy HS]

Well I just got my test results back from the midwife and I tested positive for GBS with this pregnancy, so I will be getting antibiotics during labor (yeah fun!!). I discussed in length with my midwife about my last pregnancy and how I got a severe uterine infection and ended up back in the hospital, the doctor told me it was caused from strep. Now they never tested me for GBS with that last pregnancy (I went into labor at 37 weeks), but they did give me one round of IV antibiotics just incase. They also did a lot of vaginal checks even though my water broke when I started labor, the doctor also push back a cervical lip when I was at 9 or 10 cm, so I figure that helped introduce the strep up inside my uterus. This time my midwife mentioned also treating me with a round of oral antibiotics a week before my due date to be safe since I did get a uterine infection from what she said was GBS last time. She said that GBS was the only kind of strep I could have had in my uterus. Is this true and if so what other precautions can I take to make sure me and my baby don't have any repeat episodes with this infection? Should I take the round of oral antibiotics along with the IV antibiotics during labor. I really hate taking them unless absolutely needed, but with my back ground I sure don't want my baby to get sick and I don't want to go back with another infection, I was really sick. I also will be bringing my baby home the day I deliver in the birth center so I am a little concerned about the symptoms of GBS with a baby and what to watch out for. Not trying to worry, just want to be prepared just in case. Thanks for your help.

[MsBlack]

group b strep is NOT the only uterine infection you can have. And even if you did have a gbs infection last time, there is no certainty that you got it from being a prior carrier of gbs. People get gbs and other infections in hospitals all the time--it is in the environment.

I would not take the oral antibiotics, myself. Antibiotics kill of normal flora that helps us to maintain a proper balance of body-flora (among other functions that we need for our health, including proper digestion). You carry gbs now, but are not infected BECAUSE your other normal, beneficial flora helps to keep the gbs in check. Once you kill off too much normal flora, gbs and other pathogens are very free to return and get very well-established. It's one thing to get IV antibiotics during labor (which only the US does routinely, though we don't have better stats on infections than other developed nations)--but the oral antibiotics are going to cause more harm than good IMO. The more antibiotics you take, the more likely you are to get yeast infections/thrush, and otherwise become more vulnerable to infections of all sorts as a 'side effect' of antibiotics. Not to mention that SuperBugs were helped to generate by our overuse of antibiotics!

But I would probably do all I could to boost my immune system and general health, between now and birth. Being very well, in all ways, is the best way to avoid infection.

As for your baby--just be aware of *all* your baby's signs--breathing, color, nursing, peeing, pooping, activity/sleep, temperature, rashes...as long as your baby is doing well in all observable ways, no worries. If your baby gets lethargic, low temp (below normal, not warming up to normal with addition of layers), strange rashes, poor color (should be pink/rosy all the way to nail beds)or has breathing issues (you can google neonatal respiratory distress syndrome), these are signs of possible infection or some other issue. If in doubt, get a checkup.

good luck!

[MegBoz]

Originally Posted by MsBlack

But I would probably do all I could to boost my immune system and general health, between now and birth. Being very well, in all ways, is the best way to avoid infection

My MW recommends fermented foods. She said since she started that with her clients over a decade ago, very few test positive in the first place. If they do, she's able to help them with other natural methods & then test negative.

As MsBlack wrote, you can monitor your baby at home. I was GBS+, but had no time for antibiotics at all. The hospital policy in that case was to monitor baby for 48 hours. I think they monitored his vitals every 4 hours (temp, listened to his heart, etc.)

Kinda annoying to have to stick around the hospital that long. Especially since, early-onset GBS infection shows symptoms in baby within 24 hours in like 95% of cases (something like that), whereas late-onset GBS can not show up for 3 weeks, so the 48-hour rule is really silly.

But anyway, you can monitor baby at home the same way they would in the hospital. Maybe even have a checklist & write down the results so you're sure you remember to check everything every few hours.

[Wendy HS]

I agree about not taking the oral antibiotics. I will be passing on that one. My mom is on a special diet right now to get rid of the over abundance of candidia in her body, and I really don't want to end up in the same boat. I do take a lot of Vit C which is suppose to act like an antibiotic, plus I take probiotics and other vitamins. I am really aggervated that I have this GBS, I was so in hopes that I would be negative. I didn't think GBS was the only strep that you could get either, but that is what I was told. I don't think I've ever eaten fermented food, I am not really sure what all that would be, but I can do some more research. I was also told that once you test GBS positive you will always test positive and you can't get rid of it. Is that true? That just doesn't make sense to me, it seems like as with anything else if you are super healthy you wouldn't have it in the first place.

[homemademom]

Look into the Hibiclens protocol for treating GBS. It's an antiseptic used externally so it kills bacteria hanging around the vagina, but not all the bacteria in your body (and potentially the baby's body) like antibiotics do.

[MsBlack]

NO! It is NOT true that once you test positive, you always test positive.

What is true is that even though gbs is well known by the med ppl to come and go over some weeks' time, the Drs will TREAT YOU as if you are gbs positive at birth, if you ever tested positive during a particular pregnancy. The whole US protocol is utterly without logic. It is equally as silly to test women every pregnancy, and if you test negative next time, you will be considered 'negative' at birth--even though they well know that gbs comes and goes...so very silly!

There is lots you can do to minimize the possibility of being gbs positive by the time you go into labor...and even if you did nothing, you could still be negative for gbs by that time...because it's a bug that is known to come and go in women.

[Wendy HS]

MS Black and others thanks for your input. I know what you are saying is right, but the opposite info is what even my midwife saying it, she is a CNM though and so I guess that is the difference in what I am being told. It seems really ridiculous to me that there is so much unneccesary interventions that are done. I had two hospital births so I KNOW!!! I went with a midwife and a birthing center this time with the hopes that would be greatly reduced and so far it has been, but I am really aggervated to have an IV during labor. I know it is a heplock where they put the meds in and then unhook me, but just the thought of pumping antibiotics into my new baby really irratates me, especially if I may change from pos to neg. I already have the hibicleanse, but I read up on that too on this site and others and it sounds like it could have some negative things to it too. It says right on the bottle to not use it near the vagina. Wondering what the lesser of the two evils would be? I do take probiotics so if I do choose the antibiotics that should help I would think. Has anyone had any negative reaction to Hibicleanse?

[homemademom]

Originally Posted by Wendy HS

MS Black and others thanks for your input. I know what you are saying is right, but the opposite info is what even my midwife saying it, she is a CNM though and so I guess that is the difference in what I am being told. It seems really ridiculous to me that there is so much unneccesary interventions that are done. I had two hospital births so I KNOW!!! I went with a midwife and a birthing center this time with the hopes that would be greatly reduced and so far it has been, but I am really aggervated to have an IV during labor. I know it is a heplock where they put the meds in and then unhook me, but just the thought of pumping antibiotics into my new baby really irratates me, especially if I may change from pos to neg. I already have the hibicleanse, but I read up on that too on this site and others and it sounds like it could have some negative things to it too. It says right on the bottle to not use it near the vagina. Wondering what the lesser of the two evils would be? I do take probiotics so if I do choose the antibiotics that should help I would think. Has anyone had any negative reaction to Hibicleanse?

I googled and found these studies:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7...&linkpos=1&log
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract (this explains the protocol, too)

[MsBlack]

Hibiclense is usually sold at a 4% solution in pharmacies. You only want to use a .2% solution in your vagina...that's "2/10 of 1%," meaning you dilute your 4% hibiclense 20times to get to .2% I would not use 4% hibi in or near my yoni! But I've seen the .2% used many times, before and during labor, and no one has had any issues. To be clear, the people I know only used that solution 1 time, just prior to gbs testing (to procure a negative test result). Then, during labor, it was used a few times where water was broken more than about 6hrs, as an antiseptic 'lube' for sterile gloves when vag exam was done. I won't do vag exam unless someone is in active labor anyway--which also reduces infection risk--but if mom really wants one, or it seems (rarely) needed, then the gloved hand is dipped into .2% hibi prior to exam. A little of the solution is also used to rinse external parts prior to exam....just small things to help prevent vag exam from elevating infection risk.

[Wendy HS]

Okay I will go ahead and study up and possibly do the hibicleanse protocol. My only other question is that the midwife used one swab to do the vagina and the rectum. Kinda gross, but couldn't GBS be in one place and not the other. I don't want to be gross, but why on earth do they swab your rectum, it seems like there is a lot of things that could be in there that you don't want in contact with your baby, but other than pooing when you deliver does the baby ever come into contact with any of that stuff anyways? Please tell me I don't have to stick anything up in my rectum!!! I don't think I can do that. I will be trying a water birth, but was assured that my baby is not in any increased danger even if I poop in the water. YUCK!!!! I am sorry if this is too much detail!!!!

[MegBoz]

I don't think I've heard that the hibicleans rinse protocol includes rinsing the anus or rectum, so I think you're fine.